Because of a Friend
by KageNoNeko
Summary: Yugi and Joey are dueling, but Yugi is not putting his effort into the duel like the last so many. Can Joey get Yugi out of his phase or will he be unsuccessful? Post-canon.


**AN: Naming this one shot was far more troublesome than writing it. There is another AN at the end for people who read my fanfiction. Now before I zip up this author note, me no own Yu-Gi-Oh!. Got it?**

* * *

"It's your turn, Yuge."

Yugi Muto glanced at his hand and drew his next card. He looked at the card, freezing as memories surged through him. The Dark Magician always did this now especially since his grandfather had passed away. Even though more than a year has gone by, the pain of lost always kept surfacing especially whenever he saw the Dark Magician. Maybe it was because the card was the strongest of his grandpa's deck. Or maybe it was because Dark Magician also reminded him of Atemu.

"Hey, Yugi, are you all right?" Joey asked from across the table. "You zoned out for awhile."

"I'm all right, Joey," said Yugi as a little voice in his head said _liar_. "I just had some things on my mind."

"You drew the Dark Magician, didn't you?" Joey asked not buying what Yugi said.

To that, Yugi knew he couldn't say a response that would past muster against his friend's scrutiny. He merely place the Dark Magician into his hand and looked at the field in front of him. His side was completely bare except for his deck and graveyard. On Joey's was several face down cards and the Flame Swordsman, a card that Yugi knew Joey had placed in his desk for nostalgia reasons and not strategy. "I play one monster in defense mode and lay one card face down," said Yugi as he laid down Feral Imp and Magical Cylinder. "I end my turn."

When Joey drew his card, Yugi knew that neither of the cards that he put down would help him one bit. This would be another duel that would end up among the heap of losses that he has experienced in the past year. "I attack your face down monster with Flame Swordsman," declared Joey watching as Yugi transferred Feral Imp to his graveyard. "Yuge, I think we need to stop."

"Why, Joey?" Yugi asked glancing up at Joey.

"You haven't been trying this entire duel. What sense would it be to continue if the outcome would be the same?"

Yugi stayed silent.

"Yuge...when will you move on?" Joey questioned, hoping that his friend would respond.

However, silence was the answer as Yugi looked down into his lap, but unlike the last time Joey's question about moving on was greeted with silence, Joey decided to take action. Putting his hand face down and rising to his feet, he walked towards Yugi. Once he reached the other side of the table, he looked down at Yugi. In Joey's eyes, it was pitiful to look at Yugi. His friend had held on to his grief for too long, and now, it was covering him in complete gloom that made him not look like the King of Games.

Joey grabbed at the collar of Yugi's shirt and hefted Yugi up until he could look into his friend's eyes. "Yugi, why?" Joey asked. "Me, Tristen, and even Téa have been asking ourselves why you keep holding on to your grief. You are not the only one who was sadden by his death. We all were! However, you are the only one who is still sad. Yugi, I can't take seeing you sad or freezing up whenever you see the Dark Magician. I just want you back to whipping my butt in our duels."

Yugi stared into Joey's eyes, and it sunk in. He was hurting his friends by not telling them that he missed his grandpa and, to a degree, Atemu. Realizing it, however, did not help Yugi. He didn't have the courage that he had gained after the Millennium Puzzle but lost after his grandpa's death. "Joey, put me down," he whispered with his hair covering his eyes.

Joey, somewhat wide-eyed after hearing Yugi speak, saw that his best friend had turned backed into the person he had first met in high school. In a quick decision, he grabbed the cards that Yugi was holding in his hand and tugged them free. "You have Mirror Force in your hand," said Joey looking at Yugi's cards before looking at Yugi. "Why didn't you play that instead of the face down that you have on the field? You would have been able to make an opening and be able to come back."

"Please, Joey, just put me down," said Yugi whispering again.

Joey did as his friend asked before placing Yugi's cards on the table. Watching, Joey saw Yugi toss his cards in the Millennium Puzzle's former box and left. As much as it made Joey feel utterly helpless, he still didn't know what he could do to help his friend.

* * *

"...and that was how it ended, Mai," said Joey the next day.

It was the day that Mai and Joey had planned to meet up at a little coffee shop. Joey, still helpless, had told Mai about the duel he had with Yugi when he arrive at the coffee shop. He had some hope that Mai might be able to help him, but he wasn't too sure since she had stayed quite for some time after he finished.

"Joseph, I don't what to tell you," said Mai dashing Joey's hopes, "but what has Téa done?"

"She's still in New York, but I know Yugi does talk to her a lot in the mornings," Joey answered.

"Then have you asked her?"

"No, I haven't."

"I would ask her," said Mai. "Now besides Yugi being in the dumps, what else have you been up to?"

* * *

He heard the tinkle of bells as he entered the game shop. Nothing had changed much in the year since the elder Muto's death except for Yugi's mom was running the store full-time instead of part-time. "Hello, Joseph. Yugi's upstairs," said Mrs. Muto, knowing Joey's habits of visiting Yugi.

"Thank you, Mrs. Muto," said Joey before he wander into the back and then upstairs.

Once upstairs, he didn't take long to find Yugi, who was in the kitchen. "Oh, hello, Joey," said Yugi as he put away the clean dishes.

"I want to duel you, Yugi," said Joey as he looked Yugi straight in the eyes.

"Why?" Yugi asked.

"There is something I must know, Yuge, and having a duel against you and the deck that you used to defeat the Pharaoh will tell me what I need to know," Joey declared.

Yugi had completely stopped his task of putting away the dishes and turned to look at Joey. Seeing Joey determined to duel him, Yugi decided that he would accept. "I accept, Joey, but let me put away these dishes first and then I will get that deck," said Yugi before he turned around to go back to his task.

Joey grinned, hoping that what Téa suggested would now work.

* * *

They were midway in their duel, and Yugi was in disbelief. He had a slight edge over Joey at the moment. His Silent Magician LV0 had leveled up to LV8 and was the strongest monster on the field, keeping Joey from gaining any real momentum. In his hand, Yugi had all that he needed to keep Joey from pulling any surprises out. However, the cards were not the only thing giving Yugi an edge over Joey.

Yugi now felt a confidence that he hadn't had in a long while. His confidence in himself grew as he slayed another defense monster of Joey's before taking a huge bit out of Joey's life points. This duel was win-able, and Yugi knew it and accept it. Joey threw out another defense monster and ended his turn. "I attack your defense monster with Curse of Dragon. Now Silent Magician takes away the rest of your life points," declared Yugi.

"I guess, I don't have the caliber to even come close to beating you, Yuge," said Joey as he gathered up his cards. Then he looked at Yugi. "I'm glad you are back."

"Thank you, Joey. I didn't realize that I am dwelling on the past too much," said Yugi before he gathered up his cards back into a single stack. Then he whispered to Joey. "To honor them...I think I will use some of this deck with the cards that remind me of both of them."

"Atemu and your grandpa would appreciate that, Yugi," said Joey.

"Yes, you are right," Yugi said as he finished putting his deck back together. "Why don't we go to the arcade? My treat."

"It has been awhile since we been there. I think we should remember to tell Téa about the new games that have shown up there," said Joey.

"I think she would be surprise to know that the dancing game is gone," said Yugi before putting his deck away. "Atemu had told me that some guy had challenge her to a dance off on it, and she was able to beat him."

"That must have been easy for her," said Joey.

"I think the guy might have been cheating from how Atemu told me," said Yugi before Joey began to laugh.

Then Joey's laughter spread to Yugi, who started laughing as the two of them left the room where Yugi had gained back what he lost with his grandpa's death. Because of a friend, Yugi finally realized that he needed to not dwell on the past but honor the past.

* * *

**AN for people who read my fanfics: I will be cross posting on deviantArt, Archive of Our Own, and here. This site will not be on my update priority list because of some things that have happen on here. I will eventually post something on my profile giving full details about why this site has lost my dedication. **


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